The morning light filtering through the silver leaves outside the treehouse was very bright, but Kai honestly felt like a completely new man as he stretched his arms over his head.
He pulled up his status screen right away because he really needed to see exactly how much he had levelled up during the night.
[HOST STATUS RECORD]
Name: Kai
Level: 4 (Anomaly)
Health: 150/150
Mana: 220/220 (Regeneration Boosted)
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 24 (+11.5 from Bond)
Agility: 22 (+10.5 from Bond)
Defense: 5
[EQUIPMENT]
Weapon: None (Iron Hunting Dagger lost)
Chest: None (Basic Magic Tunic unequipped)
Legs: Basic Dark Pants (+1 Defense)
[SKILLS]
Active: Hard Strike (Level 2)
Passive: Greed Feast (Unique/Hidden)
Passive: Minor Ice Resistance (Copied from Target: Lyra)
[BONDS]
Lyra: MAX / Permanent Bond Established
Bonus: +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +Passive Mana Regeneration
'This system is the best, and I am never going to complain about it ever again,' Kai thought with a smile on his face while dismissing the glowing blue boxes.
He turned his head to look at the mess of blankets beside him just as Lyra started to wake up.
The busty elf scout let out a soft groan and slowly opened her bright green eyes, completely forgetting where she was for a few peaceful seconds.
But then the memories of last night clearly rushed back into her brain all at once, and her pale cheeks instantly turned a very shade of red.
She sat up in a total panic and grabbed the thick blanket, pulling it tightly up to her chin to cover her bare chest while staring at him with wide eyes.
"Good morning, Lyra," Kai said smoothly, propping his head up on his hand and giving her a very satisfied look.
"Did you sleep well? Because I definitely had the best sleep of my entire life."
"Do not speak to me like that," Lyra stammered out quickly, desperately trying to put her strict and honourable scout persona back on.
"What happened last night was a complete lapse in my elven judgment, and we are absolutely never going to speak of this incident again."
Her silver hair was completely messy and sticking up in every direction, her face was completely flushed, and she was currently hiding under his blanket in her own bed.
"We do not have to talk about it if you do not want to, but I really have to point out that you are not nearly as quiet and respectful as you claim to be," Kai laughed, reaching out to brush a stray lock of silver hair out of her eyes.
"You were actually loud last night, and I am pretty sure half the village heard you dropping your strict scout act."
Lyra gasped loudly in pure horror and immediately grabbed the large, fluffy pillow from behind her head.
She threw it directly at his face with surprising speed, hitting him right on the nose before pulling the blanket over her head to hide her embarrassment.
[Target is incredibly flustered.]
[Bond level maxed. Passive mana regeneration increased.]
Kai just laughed and tossed the pillow back onto the mattress, feeling completely ready to take on whatever this crazy apocalypse world wanted to throw at him today.
He was just about to pull the blanket down and drag her back into his arms for a quick morning session when someone started pounding heavily on the heavy wooden door.
The knocking was loud and sounded like whoever was standing outside was trying to break the thick root door right off its hinges.
Lyra instantly peeked her head out from under the covers, her green eyes filled with genuine panic as a deep and authoritative voice echoed from the front porch.
"Lyra, open this door immediately!" the male elf shouted from outside, his voice dripping with traditional arrogance.
"It is Captain Elian, and I came to check on your well-being because I refuse to let a filthy human stray stay inside your private quarters."
"Oh no, this is a disaster," Lyra whispered frantically, dropping her tough attitude entirely and practically shoving Kai toward the edge of the mattress.
"Elian is the captain of the village guard, and he is traditional about our sacred laws. You need to hide under the bed or get in the closet right now before he sees you in here."
"Yeah, I am definitely not hiding from some arrogant guy who thinks he owns you," Kai replied casually, completely ignoring her panicked orders as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
He did not bother looking for his ruined black tunic at all and just pulled on his dark pants and walked barefoot across the smooth wooden floor, totally unfazed by the angry elf pounding on the door.
Kai actually wanted to see exactly who was interrupting his morning, so he reached out and unlocked the heavy door, swinging it wide open and leaning lazily against the wooden frame.
Captain Elian was standing on the porch wearing a full set of polished armour, and he honestly looked like a classic fantasy hero right up until his jaw completely dropped open in shock.
He stared at Kai's bare chest and messy hair for a long second before his angry eyes slowly drifted past Kai's shoulder and looked directly into the tiny treehouse.
The captain saw the completely ruined bedsheets, and he saw Lyra sitting there blushing furiously while clutching the blanket to her bare chest.
Elian's face instantly turned a very dangerous shade of purple, and he looked like he was about to explode from pure rage.
"You disgusting human trash!" Elian screamed at the top of his lungs, his hand immediately flying to the hilt of his glowing silver sword.
"What have you done to the purest scout in the entire Northernwood? I am going to cut your head off and feed it to the feral beasts for defiling her!"
Kai did not even flinch at the loud threat, choosing instead to pull up his transparent system screen and quickly scan the angry captain standing in front of him.
[Target: Captain Elian]
[Level: 20]
[Status: Blinded by intense jealousy.]
'These warrior guys are usually pretty strong, but they fight sloppily because they are blinded by their own emotions.'
"I have no idea what you are talking about, man," Kai said smoothly, running a hand through his messy hair and giving Elian a totally unapologetic look.
"Lyra and I were just getting to know each other since we are roommates now, and you honestly have some terrible timing because we were just having a really great morning together."
Lyra let out a highly embarrassed squeak from the bed, completely failing to correct him or defend her own honour because she was just way too flustered by the entire situation.
Her silence was the breaking point for the traditional captain.
Elian drew his sword right there on the wooden porch, the bright silver blade humming with dangerous magical energy as he pointed the sharp tip directly at Kai's throat.
"I officially challenge you to a duel at the village training grounds right now!" Elian yelled, completely losing his mind in front of the surrounding treehouses.
"If you lose this fight, you will be thrown outside the magical barrier without any weapons, and you will never look at Lyra ever again."