Chapter 021 – Peak Attribute

[2009 – June]

Waking up slowly, it took me a moment to recognize my surroundings and for yesterday's memories to sink in, causing me to be very aware of the sleeping beauty right next to me.

Huddled up into a little ball, Jean was pressed against my side still asleep, while my arms were wrapped around her. Her little hands were clinging to my shirt even in her sleep, while the blanket covered us both.

Her small body gave off an incredible heat that made it nearly impossible for me to even consider leaving her side. The comfortable warmth under the covers standing in great contrast to the fresh morning air that wafted into the room through the open window.

A look at the clock revealed that it was only a few minutes after seven, so more than an hour before the bell rang and possibly woke up the sleeping beauty next to me.

It had cost me considerable willpower to extract myself from Jean and move out of the bed, but after several attempts, I managed to force myself to do so.

Going to the bathroom and closing the door behind me, I brushed my teeth and took care of some morning business.

Looking in the mirror, I once again saw the unfamiliar face of a teen. My wild black locks, bright green eyes, and noticeable cheekbones making me a handsome young man again.

Sighing to myself, I knew that the day when I would forget my old looks wasn't far off as the human mind was capable of adapting to anything if given time.

Sensing the reserves in myself, I felt out the changes yesterday's events had brought more clearly and discovered that they had been filled up to the Epsilon-level already. I was surprised for a moment before I thought about the why.

The information I had about my power and its limits was extensive and going through it all, I soon found a hint. The energy that was being generated every second and filled up these reserves was something akin to life energy, which my body and every living being produced on their own.

Jean's flames originated from the Phoenix Force, which was quite literally the manifestation of Life, Destruction, Rebirth, and Renewal. They definitely carried the life element inside them and by coming in contact with them, my body absorbed them to fill up its reserves.

While an incredible discovery, I didn't change my thoughts about Jean.

I liked her and would love to spend more time with her, even be intimate with her. But I wouldn't manipulate her to get access to her power, as I could grow strong on my own and I wasn't capable of betraying her trust like that.

Had she been an enemy, I wouldn't hesitate to take everything I could from her, but she wasn't and I refused to be like the Professor and manipulate those around me for my own goals. His goal may be noble from his point of view but that didn't excuse his actions.

I would reach my goals through my own strength, and create my own future. That was my resolve and a promise to myself and my benefactor.

Still, with my reserves filled up like this, I now had the chance to gain a new ability and while it was just of the Epsilon-level, it could be very useful as well.

At this level, I could basically give myself an attribute at the peak human level, or weaker supernatural abilities that were very restricted in their power and usefulness, like changing the colour of my eyes or other minor abilities.

I already had a specific one in mind though, so didn't hesitate to activate my Self-Creation and grant me peak human stamina. Directly after a fiery heat and piercing cold emerged from within my body, causing my muscles to spasm and tremble while pain assaulted my nerve endings.

I clenched my teeth and didn't let out even the slightest moan of discomfort, as pain wrecked through my body. My trembling hands gripping the sink were having difficulty keeping me stable, as my feet were unable to support my body any further.

Doing my best to not just drop to the floor, I slowly sunk down to my knees and waited for the power-granting process to be over.

A rough guess of mine was that it probably took about two minutes before the pain faded completely and I could let out a breath of relief.

Sweat drenched my shirt and underwear, so I directly took them off after I managed to stand up on wobbly legs and placed them into a basket for my dirty laundry.

Moving into the shower, I let the hot water wash away the phantom pain still rattling my system.

Peak Human Stamina.

It was an absolutely necessary attribute if I wanted to maximize my gains through training my body and helping the life energy inside me fill up faster.

I could already feel it working, as I regained my strength very quickly after only a few short minutes under the shower.

It was also an attribute for which I didn't need to meet any prior requirements, like strength for example which required increased durability to use.

Basically what this power did was perfect my metabolism within the human limits. It gave me the absolute peak of humanly possible stamina. Even the best athletes among normal humans were only as good as I in this department, and very possibly even worse.

Stepping out of the shower, I dried myself off thoroughly with a towel and went back to my bedroom in all my naked glory. I wasn't really bothered by others seeing me naked as I had nothing to hide, but Jean was still asleep either way.

Putting on my last remaining clean shirt and one of three remaining boxershorts, I stepped towards the bed and slipped back under the covers.

Placing my arms around Jean again, I enjoyed her soothing warmth and fell back into a light sleep, just enjoying this beautiful morning a bit more.

…

Having woken up a few minutes ago, Jean's heart nearly tripped over itself in nervousness and embarrassment as she remembered where she was and what she had done yesterday with Elijah.

Making out, climaxing, destroying his couch, and then sleeping over after another few rounds of kisses while wearing nothing but a shirt of his.

She wasn't quite sure how to act now, being in completely uncharted territory, and once again her powers proved useless as a reflexive use of her telepathy gave her nothing but silence from Elijah's mind.

Though when she felt him move back under covers with her and wrap his arms around her, most of her anxiety vanished and a warm tingling sensation spread through her stomach like a million fiery butterflies.

Emboldened by the memories of her actions yesterday, Jean used a quick fiery push of telekinetic powers to banish her morning breath before opening her eyes and raising her head.

Locking gazes with Elijah, she moved up a bit and placed her lips against his softly, and while one of her hands was busy holding onto his shirt, the other buried itself in his still wet hair.

Moving back a bit, Jean knew that her cheeks probably had a rosy tint to them, as she smiled at the attractive young man next to her and voiced out in a raspy whisper: "Morning."