Upgrading Physique

On the way back home, he carefully avoided all the security camera laden areas and took out all his equipment in a safehouse near his home.

His steps were slow, mirroring his not-so-bright mood. When he got home, he noticed that Evelyn wasn't back from her job yet, so he went to the pets' room and brought out Milo on his shoulder with Toby walking behind him in tow.

After taking out a couple of snacks from the fridge, he settled on the sofa with Milo in his embrace. Toby nuzzled beside him as both of his pets sensed his mood. Looking up at the ceiling he thought,

'Well, no use thinking about such things now, it isn't in my control. I should rather think about what happened. There were several baffling things which took place.

'Firstly, whoever it was that attacked, their first target was Adrian. If it was anyone else among us, the person, me included, would've died for sure. Was it a fluke? Or intended?

'Secondly, they didn't pursue us either. If it was simply a warning and they intended to let us go then the first one might be in their intention too.

'Wait, when we were out killing gangs after coming back from the trip, the Gardeners' troops didn't do anything to us but instead simply gave a warning and retreated. Is this what they meant? They didn't want us messing around? Surely others should have come to the same conclusion by now if they remember this incident.

'Does that mean whoever attacked us was from the Gardeners indeed? Warning us to not go any further? Damn, could it indeed be related to mana crystals? If so, I can understand why. Those things are a lifeline to these supernatural beings. They won't be able to use their abilities if they don't have the energy required in the first place. They wouldn't even be able to upgrade their physique either. Hmm, maybe we should indeed stop thinking about that place or go in with more preparation.

'Thirdly, I didn't sense the activation of that ability, if it was indeed one. Wait, technology can definitely not replicate that right? Mmm maybe not, Seraphina said something about there being higher realms of power and how that individual was one of them. Was she talking about how the limits of my ability upgraded and changed a little? Does that mean I could have been able to take him on since I've successfully upgraded both of my abilities once.

'That's a startling discovery, is that the reason I didn't discover him? Because we were both supposedly on the same level? Or maybe he was even higher? Hmm but I feel I wouldn't have been able to defend against that air blade in time either.

'My Reality Manipulation needs conscious activation, even if my range picks up the air blade heading towards me, for the sensation to register in my brain then consciously activating my ability on the air blade would be enough time for it to slice my neck with the speed at which it was moving.

'There could be a couple of things I could do, 1. find a way to increase the range of my ability, 2. Increase my reaction speed. Well, two short term goals for now then.'

He began munching on the snacks as he contemplated his future plans. A few moments later though, his phone beeped. When he checked it was their group. Isabelle had apologized.

"Sorry for lashing out earlier Seraphina. I just couldn't cope with seeing Adrian the way he was. I love him dearly and I simply couldn't handle the stress which came with the possibility of never being able to be with him again."

He raised an eyebrow at the message, she completely ignored or skipped mentioning what she had said during the conflict. Seraphina's message came a moment later, similarly ignoring what she had uttered,

"I am sorry too."

Short but concise.

Maximus raised an eyebrow at the reply which was unlike that of the usual Seraphina but paid no further thought. They would sort it out when they met in reality. On the other hand, he wanted to upgrade his physique to up his reaction game. It was possible that he might be able to defeat the air blade user if that was the case.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to call Seraphina. She picked up the phone after two rings. Deciding not to dwell on the past topic, he directly asked,

"Do you have extra mana crystals?"

"I am fine."

An immediate silence ensued as both spoke at the same time. With a laugh of self pity, Seraphina thought, 'Right, why would anyone care about me?'

Maximus felt awkward on the other side after he heard what she said, so he quickly whispered, "Sorry…", but Seraphina saved him of it after intentionally clearing her throat and saying,

"It's alright. What do you need mana crystals for?"

This time he took his time to think of a response and said,

"Are you really okay? No need to be hung up on what happened yesterday. We're all our own unique individuals with our own ways of thinking. But you know, that doesn't have to get in the way of us getting along. We all have different thoughts and that's just part of being human.

"Sometimes those differences can cause some bumps, even in friendships. But hey, that's totally normal. Remember, we all see things from our own perspectives, and that's what makes life interesting and well, complicated. The key is to give each other space to express ourselves, find those common areas, and make our friendship even stronger by understanding each other better. I am sure you'll be fine."

There was a silence on the other end as Seraphina heard each word carefully, digesting what he said but still replied a little stubbornly,

"What do you want mana crystals for?"

Her voice this time had returned to normal, eliciting a mental sigh out of Maximus as he said,

"I just need to, you know, upgrade my physique. We might be able to contend against that air blade individual if I could react faster. Adrian doesn't have a sensory range given by the ability, but I do."

Narrowing her eyes, Seraphina said, "But your probability manipulation can't do much even if it knew where the air blade was coming from and who was launching it. It needs a lot of elements at least in the surroundings, with the best case scenario being they are moving but there can't possibly be a lot in the forest now, right?"

Maximus simply said, "Probability Manipulation is merely another use of the ability I have." He didn't elaborate any further.

Seraphina's eyes widened a little, an evident flicker of surprise visible for a moment in them before she narrowed her eyes and said, "You're really smart aren't you? Alright, I do have some in stash, I can give them to you on credit. Return them anytime you want, I'll also attach the Scripture you need to recite for the mana crystals to take effect. Cya."

Maximus put down the phone on his sofa and leaned back, barely able to conceal his excitement for getting his hands on mana crystals for the first time. If everything went as he wished, a few of his questions could be answered too.